Let's say a man is walking his dog and just leisurely strolling about in his spare time. He approaches a busy street with scores of cars going both ways. Disregarding the fact that crosswalk buttons are generally fake, as it is a sin to intend to do something even if it is impossible, or even if you change your mind, is it sinful for him to press the crosswalk button in the hopes that he can spend less time waiting on the light and force scores of people who may actually have things to do to wait on him?

Yesterday when I was in NJ, I saw a lady pressing the crosswalk button over and over again as if she thought that would actually be helpful. I guess no one has told her that they are generally fake.

_________________"The time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but, following their own desires, will surround themselves with teachers who tickle their ears. They will stop listening to the truth and will wander off to fables" (2 Tm 4:3-4).

It's true that the crosswalk button doesn't make the light turn red any faster, but you are quite wrong that it doesn't do anything at all....when you hit the crosswalk button it activates the 'walk/don't walk' sign, which, in most places these days anyway, also have a timer telling you how much time you have to cross before the light turns green again...and without that...you're really just guessing and hoping against hope that the light doesn't turn green when you're only halfway across...

_________________Excelsior!

Last edited by Doom on Wed May 02, 2012 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

Around here the light in the pedestrian direction actually stays green longer in many cases if the button has been pushed. So it might not make it change faster but it does make sure you have long enough to cross the street.

Around here the light in the pedestrian direction actually stays green longer in many cases if the button has been pushed. So it might not make it change faster but it does make sure you have long enough to cross the street.

Well, for my part, I don't think I've ever seen a city where the 'walk/don't walk' sign activates if no one has pushed the button...

Around here the light in the pedestrian direction actually stays green longer in many cases if the button has been pushed. So it might not make it change faster but it does make sure you have long enough to cross the street.

Well, for my part, I don't think I've ever seen a city where the 'walk/don't walk' sign activates if no one has pushed the button...

I've seen one instance of that. I don't know why it's on that one road, though.

Also, I have to say, being someone who walked to Mass every day for a while, I find the walk signs around here to be utterly useless. Most of them will only activate if you press the button before the light turns green. I have actually gotten to a light right when it turned green, pressed the button, and nothing happened. And I was on the main street. The light was on for another minute and a half. Things like this happen all the time. So I basically just do hope I have enough time to go across, and I nearly always do. Ugh, crosswalk signs.

Crosswalk buttons usually affect the pedestrian signal and/or time to cross

In some intersections they do change the lights. We have many lights here that, rather than strict timers, adjust automatically for traffic. Which is nice, you come up to a red and there is no cars going the other way and it changes immediately. It will stay green for the actual traffic until there is traffic the other way, or until someone presses the crosswalk button.

They also have them now on crosswalks that aren't at lights, but go through busier streets. Usually it has some flashing lights to signal drivers that someone is crossing.

Only someone who is enslaved to the American car mentality would even ask the question of whether it is immoral for a pedestrian to make drivers wait.

Only a yankee could make such an asinine statement.

Only a Texan could confuse a near-southerner like dcs with a yankee. dcs's state touches the mason dixon line. He's no yankee.

gherkin is correct as regards the traditional use of the term. It was originally limited to descendents of English settlers in New England. Since I am not from New England, nor even primarily of English descent, I am not a Yankee. Of course, to a European I am a Yankee, but then so is virtually everyone else in this forum.

Pedestrians have the right of way everywhere, that doesn't mean that it's smart to dart out in front of oncoming traffic, if you want to commit suicide there are more efficient means to do it.....

Here it is enforced. We got a ticket (as did 5 other cars) because someone put one foot off the curb - not in a cross walk, they were hidden behind a van, but, they were still considered to have the right of way.